Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke has asked the International Olympic Committee to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

In a letter to Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee, Congresswoman Clarke and several of her colleagues explained their concerns about the laws enacted in Russia that mandated discriminated toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. 

“The nations of world send teams of their best athletes to the Olympics in celebration of our extraordinary diversity. Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity violates the principles of mutual respect and the dignity of the individual on which the Olympic Games were established,” said Congresswoman Clarke, who, as a member of the House of Representatives, has supported the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which will provide workplace protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. “By prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the International Olympic Committee has an opportunity to demonstrate to people around the world its commitment to ‘Sport for All’ and ‘Peace Through Sport.’”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.